Freedom From Fear
by lah0408
Summary: Veronica is Erudite born but her heart, and aptitude test, tell her she is Dauntless. She follows in her brother's footsteps but realizes that Dauntless has strayed so far from it's manifesto, it's barely recognizable. Her brother Dominic, a Dauntless leader, wants to remove the cruelty and corruption from Dauntless, but he cannot do it alone. This is an AU, no war story.
1. Blue

**_A/N- This is an AU no war story. Tris doesn't exist. (I love her to death but I wanted to write an OC with Four, and I can't imagine him with anyone else but her if she exists anywhere in the world!) I have made the choosing ceremony happen when they turn 18 instead of 16. Please let me know what you think! Reviews are like crack!_**

Blue. Anytime Veronica looked in the mirror, she always saw the blue first. The blue in her eyes, a family trademark, followed by the blue of her clothes. Blue had always been a good color for her, the dark brown of her hair and the natural tan of her skin offset the blue nicely. She wondered absently if black would look as good on her, before laughing at the ridiculousness of her thoughts. She wondered if her brother Dominic worried how he would look in Dauntless black before making his choice. _Of course he didn't. Dom was born to wear black._ She thought to herself as she paced in her room, debating on trying to sneak out of the house and go to the choosing ceremony on her own, rather than face her parents.

She wished that she was as decisive as her brother was, but she wasn't delusional enough to let herself believe she could measure up to her brother in that regard. Once again she ran her fingers over the pale scars on the palms of her hands, thinking about the matching scars running across her torso, and cursed the position her Aunt Jeanine had put her in when she received them. _It will be a black mark across the entire faction._ Her Aunt's calm, reasonable tone echoed in her head as she remembered her words. The memories, much like the scars, hadn't faded much in the past four years. She shook her head to clear the ghosts from her past, and resigned herself to joining her parents downstairs.

As soon as she reached the living room, her parents' quiet chatter ceased as the both looked at her with worry. "I'm ready." She told them attempting what she hoped was an encouraging smile. Her Mother stood and crossed the room to her, placing her hand on Veronica's head, smoothing her hair. "Your Aunt has a position in her lab earmarked for you, if you want it." Her mother told her hopefully.

"I don't want to work in her lab." Veronica said flatly, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. She wasn't supposed to discuss her aptitude test results or her choice with anyone, but Erudite never followed rules they considered to be irrational very closely. Surely her parents realized that Erudite had been tainted for her, after 'the inconvenience', as she often referred to it.

"There are always teaching opportunities." Her Father chimed in, as though he didn't pick up the meaning behind her words. She ignored him, her jaw tightening as her teeth clenched in frustration.

"You don't have to leave." Her Mother told her softly.

"Yes, I do."

"Candor works very closely with Erudite, we would see you…" Her Father began, before trailing off as he realized the fault in that logic.

"Yeah I don't think Aunt Jeanine would be crazy about me choosing Honesty." Veronica said, barely able to keep the venom out of her voice. She sighed when she realized her last minutes alone with her parents shouldn't be spent arguing with them. They'd done enough of that the past few years. "I love you." She told them, "but I can't stay here. Candor isn't an option, and I'm not Amity or Abnegation material."

Her Father nodded and stood, putting an arm around her Mother's waist. "It's time to go." He told her, the tone of his voice conveying that while he wasn't happy about it, he'd come to terms with her decision.

* * *

"Veronica Cassell." Veronica's head jerked as her Aunt Jeanine read her place behind the choosing ceremony bowls. She'd been so lost in her thoughts, turning her decision over and over in her head; she hadn't been paying attention to the ceremony at all. She stood, making her way to the designated spot in front of the bowls, pausing to stare at the knife lying on the white bandage. The thought of cutting her hand made her stomach churn, but she knew that being brave started now. She took the knife and drug it across her palm, being careful to not reopen one of the scars on her hand. She didn't want to reopen old wounds, figuratively or literally. Her eyes scanned the bowls, and she finally looked at her Aunt, who was smiling warmly at her. Veronica eyed the bowl of glass representing Candor, and smiled, holding her hand over the bowl and locking her eyes with her Aunt. Jeanine's smile faded and she gave Veronica a warning look. Veronica thought she saw a brief glimpse of fear behind her Aunt's calm façade and relented, counting it as a small victory. She moved her hand, letting her blood drip over the coals representing Dauntless. Her Aunt called out her choice and a cheer came from the Dauntless crowd as Veronica walked through them, getting slaps on the shoulders and other good natured jostling. She realized how widely she was grinning when she took her place next to an Amity transfer, and knew that she made the right choice.

The rest of the ceremony passed without incident, and before she knew it Veronica was in a crowd of Dauntless running for the train tracks. As they waited for the train to come past them, Veronica looked to her right and saw Will, a classmate and casual friend standing next to her. He met her gaze and grinned, his breathing slightly ragged from the run to the tracks. She smiled back, before her attention turned to the train, and the Dauntless that were now jumping on it. She looked back at Will, whose eyes had widened after watching. "I guess we need to jump." She told him with a shrug, doing her best to ignore the butterflies that had suddenly appeared in her stomach. She tried recalling her studies of the human brain, how fear can be overcome if the rational part of the brain took over, but that didn't comfort her much.

"Are they crazy?" Will asked her in shock, but he had already scooted closer to the edge, watching the cars for a place to jump.

"Yes." Veronica answered absently as she also watched the train. "Ready?" She asked him. She assumed he nodded as she heard no response, and didn't turn her gaze to him. "Jump!" She yelled before launching herself towards the train, grabbing a railing and throwing herself into the train ungracefully, her shoulder hitting the opposite wall. Will pulled himself in after and they both put their backs to the wall, before slowly sliding down to sit on the floor. Veronica stared at the floor on the ground between her knees as she digested the last 15 minutes of her life, and how drastically it had changed. She didn't look up until Will nudged her shoulder with his own.

"Edward and Myra made it." He told her, glancing in their direction. Veronica's heart gave a familiar pang as she looked at the two. She and Edward had dated for almost 2 years, and had only broken up five months ago, when she'd found out he'd been with Myra for the last three months of their relationship.

She shrugged and flippantly told Will; "whatever", but honestly, it had hurt her to find out Edward didn't love her. He'd been a constant in her life, and they'd shared many things. Edward taught her how to fight and how to not feel helpless, and she'd helped him keep his grades up to the high standards of their faction. He'd never asked about her attack, and her scars, and that made it easy to be with him, and endeared him to her. They'd said they'd loved each other and lost their virginity to each other, but in the end, they'd both fallen out of love, and Edward hadn't wanted to keep up the charade any longer.

"I think these people are crazy." A pretty Candor girl sitting beside Veronica said, and Veronica jumped. She hadn't even noticed the girl, she'd been so wrapped in her thoughts.

"That's what I said." Will told her, before looking at Veronica. "I told you."

Veronica gave him an exasperated look. "I agreed with you." She reminded him. Erudite's really liked to be right, and clearly he just wanted to remind her that he had been.

"I'm Will." He told the Candor girl, ignoring Veronica.

"Christina." The girl told him with a smile.

"Veronica." Veronica told her, mustering a tight smile, even though her thoughts were to the exiting of the train. She'd seen the Dauntless get off the train for school each morning, and she knew that it would make getting on the moving train seem preferable.

"I think they're trying to kill us." Christina said, though she had an uncontrollable grin on her face as she said it.

"They wouldn't try to kill us, Dauntless already has the lowest amount of initiates every year, and they require a large force as they are the protectors of the city, so attempting to kill us would go against their goal." Will rattled off his explanation while Christina looked at him as though he'd started speaking a different language.

"Does he do this a lot?" Christina asked Veronica with an amused smile.

Veronica shrugged. "It's kind of an Erudite thing." She admitted. She had a similar train of thought when Christina asked the question, she just hadn't voiced it.

"Gross." Christina said, only a slight hint of playfulness in her voice. She looked at them and gave a sheepish grin. "Sorry, not having a filter is…"

"kind of a Candor thing?" Will finished for her. She nodded and they sat in silence staring out the open door at the city passing by in a blur in front of them. "When will we know to get off?" Will mused after a minute.

"When the train stops?" Christina asked in a tone that implied 'duh'.

"If it didn't stop for us to get on, why would it stop for us to get off?" Veronica asked her in the same tone, making Christina flush.

"They are trying to kill us!" She moaned as the Dauntless milling around the car began gathering around the open doors, confirming Veronica's hypothesis. Christina stood, albeit slowly, as though the Dauntless would suddenly come to their senses. Will and Veronica followed suit and their eyes widened as the Dauntless began leaping from the opening, not to the ground, but to a building rooftop.

"Just don't think about it." Christina yelled over the wind as the three edged to the doorway.

Veronica nodded, taking a deep breath and jumping as soon as Christina shouted "jump!" She landed hard, and fell to her knees from the momentum, throwing her hands in front of her to prevent her face from hitting the ground, scraping her palms on the rough concrete. She groaned, more from embarrassment of not keeping her footing than from pain. A hand was extended out to her, and she took it, looking up at the tall Amity transfer that she had stood next to during the choosing ceremony.

"Thanks. I guess I need to get better at that." She told him, brushing herself off.

"Which part? The jumping or the landing?" He asked her with a lopsided grin, pushing his shaggy blonde hair back from his face.

She laughed, "both I guess…" She admitted, looking around the rooftop at the others. They'd started with 13 transfers, they were down to 10.

"Hey, I think you're in the wrong place farmer boy, Amity is outside the gate." A rough voice shouted, before joining a chorus of laughter. A severe looking Candor boy standing with another Candor boy and a plain Candor girl sneered at them when the Amity transfer and Veronica turned to look at them.

Veronica rolled her eyes muttering "I wonder how long it took him to come up with that golden piece of wit."

The Amity boy shrugged as though he hadn't even heard the attempt at an insult. "I'm Jeremy." He told her.

"Veronica." She told him, before a heavily pierced and tattooed man dressed in all black began shouting for the initiates.

"Good luck Veronica." He said, giving her a genuine smile before they reached the crowd of initiates watching the Dauntless man pace back and forth on the ledge. She thought he was a nice guy, but she wasn't sure if there was room for nice in Dauntless.

"My name is Eric, and I am one of the Dauntless leaders. I am one of your leaders." He said the last part with a hard stare, seeming to look at everyone and no one all at once. "I am not going to waste time on speeches until we are in the compound, because I don't want to waste my time on any of you who don't make it to the compound." The crowd shifted uneasily, and Veronica noticed even some of the Dauntless born initiates looking worried. Clearly this was not someone to take lightly. "The Dauntless compound is down there." Eric continued, pointing into the blank space behind him, between two buildings. "And there are no stairs." He added with the smile of someone who enjoyed watching others squirm.

"You want us to jump?" Myra asked in disbelief.

"Unless you know how to fly." Eric quipped.

"Is there like water or something down there?" Will asked curiously. Veronica wished she was standing close enough to pinch him hard enough to shut him up. The Erudite transfers were making themselves stand out, and not in a good way.

"Does it matter?" Eric snapped. "Would knowing what was down there make you less afraid? Because you are in the wrong place if that is the case. Now who is jumping first?!" He demanded, seeming to lose his patience with the questions.

Veronica quickly realized this exercise wasn't just a test of bravery, but was also testing their ability to follow orders, and to trust their leaders. She thought back to her aptitude test, how picking up the knife and killing the dog had been an immediate reaction, not because she wanted to kill something, but because self-preservation had become the most important thing in her life, ever since 'the inconvenience'. She didn't hesitate to jump on and off the train, and she decided it wasn't the time to start. "I'll go." She volunteered.

Heads swiveled in her direction, and Eric smiled at her, appraising her with his gaze as she walked towards the ledge. He jumped down, putting his arms up in an offering gesture. "It's all yours."

* * *

_**I hope everyone enjoys the beginning of this. I can't wait to upload the next chapter, but I don't want to update so frequently I run out of steam before the end, so I am shooting for a weekly update. However, if I get some wonderful, thoughtful, or helpful reviews, I could be persuaded to update more frequently! :) PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!**_


	2. First Jumper

_**A/N- THANK YOU FOR EVERYONE WHO REVIEWED, FAVORITED OR ALERTED THE FIRST CHAPTER. I REALLY APPRECIATE IT. PLEASE REVIEW!**_

* * *

Blue. That was all Four could make out as the first jumper fell towards the net. It wasn't surprising. Erudite's were able to rationalize that there was surely something at the bottom to keep them from dying. Eric had been the first jumper when Four came through initiation. Dom, another Dauntless leader and Erudite transfer, had been first jumper in his year. Four put his hand out to the figure now struggling to the edge of the net. When the jumper took his hand and he pulled him off the net and to the platform, he stared for longer than he meant to. It was a girl, a pretty girl, but that wasn't why he was staring. She looked familiar but he had no idea why she would be. She started to fidget under his gaze and he cleared his throat. "Name?" He asked her, hoping maybe that would pinpoint the familiarity.

"Veronica." She told him quietly, but with firmness in her tone.

He turned his head, announcing to the darkness, "First jumper, Veronica!" The crowd waiting in the shadows erupted and Veronica let out a breath, meeting Four's gaze again. "Welcome to Dauntless." He told her, a small grin tugging at the edges of his mouth, threatening to make him appear pleasant. He enjoyed this part of the initiation; the look on each initiate after their fall told him a lot. This girl for example, looked determined on the surface, but also had a thread of excitement behind her eyes that he rarely saw this early. She loved this already; she belonged here.

"Ronnie!" Dominic shouted, breaking away from the crowd and making his way to the platform, grabbing Veronica around the knees and throwing her over his shoulder, spinning here while she protested. Suddenly, it clicked for Four. She looked familiar because the dark brown, nearly black hair and blue eyes were exactly the same as Dom's.

Dom set Veronica down, smiling broadly before enveloping her in a bear hug. "I knew you'd be here." He told her with a cocky expression.

"Yeah, yeah, you're the best at everything." She muttered good naturedly, ducking away before he could muss her hair. She gave him a serious look and said, "Dad said you were miserable here," she glanced around before smirking. "You don't look miserable."

"It's a good thing Dad isn't Candor." Dom said, though he didn't seem surprised. His Father would try anything to keep his little girl close.

"What do you do around here? Just run around and bother people?" She asked teasingly.

"That's actually exactly what he does." A pretty brunette with a pierced eyebrow and piercings covering her ears told her, giving Dominic a playful pinch. "He's a leader, so it's pretty much the same thing." She explained

Veronica raised her eyebrows in disbelief. "You? A leader?" She asked, before looking around and leaning in to whisper, "do they know anything about you?"

"No, and don't tell them." He whispered back. He straightened and put an arm around the brunette's shoulders. "This is Lauren, she's my girlfriend, she's also training the initiates." He poked Veronica in the shoulder. "That's you."

"Is it?" She asked sarcastically, rolling her eyes at her big brother.

"Actually, I'm training the Dauntless born. Four has the transfers." Lauren clarified.

"Four?" Veronica asked.

Dom pointed behind her. "The asshole on the platform." He spoke loud enough for Four to hear him, and Four responded by flicking him off while pulling another initiate from the net. "We're friends." Dom said with a grin.

"Yeah, it looks like it." Veronica said sarcastically. Her mind was still processing the fact that her brother was a Dauntless leader. How did she not know that? She was amazed that her brother was still a good natured joker, but now had an air of authority that wasn't present four years prior.

The other initiates finished their jumps, and Four came over to Dom, Veronica and Lauren. "If you don't mind boss, I'm gonna do my job now." Four told him though he wore an amused expression.

"By all means." Dom told him. "Shoo Initiate!" He told Veronica, motioning her to where the other initiates were grouped. Veronica shook her head at her brother, before joining Christina and Will in the grouping of initiates.

"Who was that?" Christina asked her.

"My brother." Veronica told her.

"You didn't tell me your brother was Dauntless!" Christina said accusingly.

Veronica gave her a sideways glance. "I've known you about five minutes." She reminded her.

"Just seems like something important to mention." Christina grumbled before turning her attention to Dominic, Four and Lauren, who were all standing on the platform beside the net.

"My name is Dominic. I am another of your Dauntless leaders. I want to tell you congratulations on making it this far." He paused to allow the initiates a moment to applaud for themselves.

"And he's a leader?" Christina hissed, leaning into Veronica's ear.

"I didn't know that." Veronica said in her defense.

"The next six weeks will be some of the most difficult of your life, but it will also be some of the greatest. Some of you were born here; you've known you belong here your entire life. Others have sacrificed everything they know, everyone they call family to be here, because they knew this is where they belonged." Dom gave the transfers a long, appreciative look. "Regardless of where you came from, remember; we are more than just your faction. We are your family now." The Dauntless members standing behind the initiates burst into noisy applause and cheering, Dom stood patiently for a moment, before putting his hands up in an attempt to silence them. The noise died down some, but still lingered. Dominic gave up and began speaking over the noise, and it slowly dissipated as he spoke. "The only advice I can give you is to train hard, push yourself beyond what you think you are capable of, and most importantly, be brave." Dom looked Veronica, giving her a smile and nod. "Good Luck."

* * *

After a tour of the facility from Four, and a less than motivating speech from Eric in which they discovered they may be cut if they are at the bottom of the pack, Four left them to get dressed in their new Dauntless black, and find their way to the dining hall. While Veronica began digging through the clothes in the locker beside her bed, Christina grabbed the first outfit she found, throwing it on quickly, before peppering Veronica with questions.

"So your brother is a Dauntless leader?" Christina asked her.

"Uh, yeah. Looks like it." Veronica told her, using her locker door to conceal herself as best as possible as she changed.

"How did you not know?" Christina pushed, cocking her head curiously.

"I haven't seen him in four years." Veronica reminded her.

"Still…" Christina said as they made their way with Will to the dining hall. "Do you think if it's going to give you an advantage?"

Veronica felt her temper flair, but didn't immediately snap at Christina. She rationalized that Candor just didn't know how to be tactful, and that most of the initiates probably thought the same thing. She still didn't trust herself to answer as they sat at the middle of an empty table, thankfully Will answered for her. "Dom isn't the type to give her something she didn't earn. And Four doesn't seem like the type to play favorites."

Christina snorted as she filled her plate with the food . "Four." She muttered. "What kind of a name is Four?"

As if Christina had summoned him, Four walked behind her, towards an empty seat at the end of the table, pausing with his eyebrows raised when he heard his name.

"I mean, Four isn't a name, it's a number. It's not even short for anything. Why on earth would anyone want to be called Four?" Christina continued as Veronica and Will's eyes widened while looking at Four.

"Uh, Christina?" Will said anxiously while Four continued to stare down at them.

"What?" She said, somewhat annoyed that her monologue was interrupted.

Veronica pointed a Four and Christina turned to see him glowering down at her. She had a look of pure terror cross her face quickly before it evaporated. "I don't like your name." She told him as he took his seat at the end of the table, separating himself from them by 3 seats.

"I heard." He said as he began filling his plate.

"I'm sure you are very excited to have a bunch of Candor initiates. You can expect this kind of unintentional insulting every day." Veronica told Four, giving Christina a chance to shut up.

"And what can I expect from the Erudites?" He asked her, leveling his gaze at her.

"Our insults are always intentional, we're just smart enough to keep our mouths shut." She told him, a small grin playing on her lips.

Four gave a short chuckle, then turned his attention to his food, signaling that their conversation was over.

"Wait, did you just call me stupid?" Christina asked Veronica.

"Nope." Veronica told her, picking her food.

Christina opened her mouth to argue, but was cut off by a tall Candor transfer and Jeremy, the Amity transfer asking if they could sit with them. The group nodded and they sat down, eagerly grabbing food.

"Thanks, we really didn't want to ask them." The Candor boy told them, looking at the table next to theirs, where Edward, Myra, and the other three Candor transfers sat.

"This is Al." Christina told Will and Veronica.

"That's Jeremy." Veronica told Will and Christina, motioning to him.

"How do you know him?" Will asked curiously.

"We're old friends, we go way back." Jeremy said with a bright smile. "All the way to the rooftop." He added.

"Who are they?" Veronica asked Christina, motioning to the Candor transfers. "They don't seem very friendly."

Christina made a disgusted face while Al rolled his eyes. "That's Peter, Drew and Molly." Christina told them. "They're awful. They are just mean bullies who think they are far more important than they are."

"They haven't even tried to talk to any of us." Will said.

"That's because I'm with you, and they know I hate them." Christina explained.

"And how do they know that?" Veronica asked with an amused smile, fairly sure she already knew the answer.

"Because I told them." Christina said matter of factly. "Who are they?" She asked, motioning to Edward and Myra.

"Edward, and his girlfriend Myra. Edward has been studying hand to hand combat since he was like 12." Will said.

"Ten." Veronica corrected.

"They aren't friendly either." Al noted.

Will gave Veronica a look, and she sighed, saying, "That's because I used to date him."

"Ooooh." Christina said knowingly. "What happened?"

"Myra happened." Veronica said flatly. She knew it was much more than that, but she really didn't feel like divulging all of that to these relative strangers.

The group ate while making idle chit chat and before long began making predictions about their training and how Dauntless worked in general. "How many leaders are there?" Will asked Veronica.

"I don't know." She said, rolling her eyes. "The only ones I know are Dom and Eric, just like you."

Christina turned to Four and raised her voice to be heard over the dull roar of the dining hall chatter. "How many leaders are there?"

Four looked up and stared at her. "Who told you that you could talk to me?" He asked her.

Christina blinked, for once, stunned into silence.

"Aren't you supposed to be teaching us? And you're sitting right next to us, so if you really didn't want us to talk to you, why wouldn't you sit at any of the 100 other tables in here?" Veronica asked him. He looked at her, and she expected to see anger, annoyance or even exasperation on his face, but instead, he just looked like he had expected it.

"Just like your brother aren't you?" He asked her.

"Is that a bad thing?" She challenged.

"I didn't say that." He told her.

"You didn't say it was a good thing." She shot back.

He laughed softly, then took a breath and looked at them. "There are 5 Dauntless leaders, all of them have an equal say so in Dauntless affairs. You met Eric and Dom, there's also Max, Trinity, and Frank. Don't ask me anything else until tomorrow, and even then, don't ask unless you absolutely have to."

"Well I can tell why they picked him to be a trainer." Veronica grumbled. "He's so approachable."

The others chuckled, though they shot looks at Four to see if he had heard her before laughing.

The group got up to leave but Dom motioned for Veronica, so she told the others she would see them in the dorm and followed him to a quiet area away from the tables, close to where Four was finishing his meal. He did his best to hear them, just to be sure that Dom wasn't inadvertently giving her an advantage for the training. He was going to have to be harder on her already to be sure that the initiates knew she wasn't getting preferential treatment. He watched from the corner of his eye while Dom turned her hands over in his, seeming to inspect them. He tugged the zipper of her jacket, and she rolled her eyes, taking it off and exposing deep scars across her chest that the wife beater she wore exposed. Four remembered that Dom had mentioned to him once that his sister had been attacked by Factionless, just before his choosing ceremony. _You can't trust the Factionless, Four. They are animals. Anyone who attacks a 14 year old girl is an animal. They don't deserve our help._

* * *

"What happened to you?" Peter's voice cut through the training room the next morning as he stared at Veronica. She bit the inside of her cheek and ignored him, fighting the urge to pull the low neck of her tank top up to cover the scars.

"She was jumped by a couple Factionless." Myra volunteered.

Peter chuckled. "Aren't the Factionless a bunch a starving old people?"

"Why don't you let me know when you get kicked out of training?" She snapped at him.

"Alright." Four shouted from the doorway as he walked in. The initiates jumped to attention, staring at him expectantly. "Let's get started."

After teaching them the basics of hand to hand combat, Four walked the lines of initiates as they practiced on the punching bags. Eric came in and stood by Four, watching them appraisingly.

"They still suck." Eric told him.

"They've been working for about 5 hours, so yeah, they still suck." Four told him stiffly. He hated that Eric was the leader that oversaw training. Eric was one of the major cancers affecting Dauntless.

Eric watched the initiates again before adding. "Those three." He said, pointing to Veronica, Edward, and Peter. "They don't suck as much as the rest of them. Why not?"

"I don't know. Natural talent? Maybe they trained in fighting before they came here?" Four suggested, hoping Eric would get disgusted by how badly the transfers sucked and just leave.

"The rest of them could take a lesson from them." Eric said.

"A lot of them probably didn't even think about joining Dauntless until their choosing ceremony." Four said, defending them.

"I knew I belonged here." Eric snorted.

"But even after all your preparation, you still only got 2nd in the class." Four reminded him.

Eric scowled at the reminder, before clapping his hands together. "Who's ready for a real fight?" He asked them with a wicked grin.

There was silence throughout the initiates as they shifted uncomfortably. Finally Veronica spoke up. "I am."

Eric chuckled and gestured towards the mats. "Let's go then." He said. She froze her body tensing as she realized he meant to fight. She looked at Four, whose face was grave.

"Eric!" Four said sharply, once he realized Eric wasn't backing down. "I'm not going to let you beat the shit out of an initiate. It doesn't teach them anything."

"Oh come on, she'll be fine, won't you?" Eric asked Veronica, whose eyes were darting back and forth between Four and Eric.

"I guess we'll find out." She said cautiously. She knew backing down was a mistake, but she really wished she could.

"I wouldn't expect any less from Dominic's sister." Eric said with a grin, pleased that she didn't back down.

Four stepped in front of Eric's path to the mat and crossed his arms. "If you want to give them a show, you could fight me instead. They'll learn more that way."

Eric stared at him, hate radiating from his gaze, before finally turning. "Fine, which one of you is going to fight her?" He asked.

Peter immediately stepped forward with a cocky grin on his face, and Veronica relaxed, a smile of her own starting to form on her lips as she walked onto the mat. The two began tentatively, throwing testing punches and kicks but not doing any serious damage. "Get on with it!" Eric shouted at them, crossing his arms impatiently. Peter jumped towards her intending to knock her backwards, but Veronica jumped to the left and Peter stumbled from his own momentum and Veronica seized the opportunity to land a solid set of punches to Peter's stomach and face. She kicked his knee and his feet fell out from under him. He laid on the mat, stunned by the sudden change in the fight. She looked at Eric and Four in question, not sure if she should continue.

"The fight ends, when one of you can't continue." Eric said.

"Or someone concedes." Four added.

"That was the old rules. The new rules say that you don't get to give up. You fight until you win, or until you can't continue." Eric told her, a small smile on his face as he watched Four's expression sour.

Veronica gave them a confused look, not sure what she should do. Four was her trainer, but Eric was a leader. Just as she was about to ask what constituted 'cannot continue' when the breath was knocked out of her by a punch to the side. She turned and threw an arm up to block another fist before it rattled her jaw and returned with her own punch to Peter's unguarded eye. He closed his eyes for a moment to stop the blinding explosion of light that momentarily blinded him, and she took the opportunity to rain blows on him, knocking him back to the mat, following him and continuing her assault until she was sure he was still. She stood and looked at Four and Eric. Four nodded and she walked off the mat, wiping her sweaty hands on her pants. She watched Four for a sign of approval, but he just looked troubled. "Nice job." Eric told her, laying a hand on her shoulder as he squeezed it quickly. She smiled at him and tried to put Four's reaction out of her mind. Eric was a leader after all, and he thought she did a good job.

* * *

_**A/N PLEASE PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK OF THE STORY! THANK YOU AGAIN TO EVERYONE READING. PLEASE REVIEW! :)**_


	3. I Don't Like Knives

_**A/N- Thank you so much for all of your reviews, alerts and favorites! They make my day!**_

* * *

The initiates lined up in the training room in front of Four, waiting for their orders for the day. They were halfway through the first stage of training and while the majority of their time had been spent working on hand to hand combat, they'd also had weapons training and several agonizing workouts. Today however, was something new.

"A lot of you probably think that knife throwing is pointless." Four told them, patting the flat of a knife into his palm as he paced in front of them. "I am here to tell you," he said, barely looking at the target to his left as he threw the knife. It landed in the bulls eye with a deep 'thunk', the handle vibrating from the impact. "It's just as important as anything else I teach you."

After a brief tutorial on how to properly throw a knife, the initiates lined up in front of their respective targets and the sound of knives hitting wood or clattering to the ground. Four watched them from a few yards back, trying to give them room to breathe while they figured out the new skill. He knew when Eric came to check in on them, they would have plenty of pressure.

His gaze moved over all of the people in front him, before settling on Veronica. His brow furrowed as she stared at the table with her knives on it, the unmarred wood in front of her signaling she had yet to throw a single knife. She reached for one, but Al, who was standing to her right, dropped his knife and she jumped, her whole body tensing. Four found her hesitance interesting. The past week she had been anything but hesitant. Her rifle accuracy was above average, her fighting was among the best, and her physical fitness was sufficient. This was her first sign of weakness, and Four couldn't blame her. He had spoken to Dom one night over beers about what happened to her, and Dom had almost broken his bottle when he talked about it he'd been so angry.

_They cut her open with a dull knife, probably something they found in the trash_. Dom spat through gritted teeth. _That's why the scars are so bad._

As Four waited for her to make a move, Molly nudged Peter, pointing to Veronica, who had picked up a knife but just stared at it, jumping at the noises around her. Peter's lips curled into a sneer and he walked to her, Drew and Molly trailing behind him, as good little minions did. Ever since Veronica beat him in their first fight, he had been looking for anything to use against her. This was the first thing he'd been able to use, and he planned to get as much as he could from it.

"What's wrong? Scared of a little knife?" Peter asked her in a sing song voice.

"I guess we know how she got those hideous scars." Molly said through a satisfied smile.

Peter stepped closer to her, grabbing a knife off the table and holding it inches from her face. "What does it feel like to get sliced open?" He asked her, moving the knife in a pendulum motion in front of her. The knife Veronica had been holding dropped from her hand, clattering to the floor.

Veronica's body resembled a tightly coiled spring, the tension threatening to release at any moment. "Get out of my face." She told him slowly, not taking her eyes off of his. Her nails were digging into her palms, her posture defensive.

"Why? Are you scared?" Peter asked innocently, turning the knife so the blade faced her, only two inches of air between the sharp edge and her cheek. Four began walking towards them, ready to end the standoff before one of them lost it. Before he could reach them, Edward grabbed Peter's shoulder, pulling him backwards, nearly knocking him off his feet. "That's enough." Edward told him gravely, before going back to his target, ignoring Myra's scowl. He met Veronica's gaze for a moment and she mouthed 'thank you' to him. He nodded back and turned his attention back to the task at hand.

Peter looked ready to fight, but saw Four approaching, and backed away after shooting one last glance in Veronica's direction. Peter, Molly, Drew, Edward and Myra were spending most of their free time together, and it was clear that Peter didn't appreciate one of 'his people' going against him.

Veronica took a breath and retrieved her knife from the floor. She stared at her target again, but was so shaken up Four could see the knife moving in her shaky hands. Four debated leaving her to overcome her fear on her own, but Eric would be in any time now, and if he saw that she was afraid… it would be bad for her.

She glanced up as he stood next to her, taking the knife from her gently, his eyes studying her. "I don't like knives." She said quietly, her face a mask of shame.

"This isn't scored, but you have to know how to do it." He told her quietly. She nodded, before her head jerked towards the sound of a knife hitting the board. Four grabbed her chin and pulled her gaze back to him. "Don't look at them, look at me." He ordered, his face and tone stern. He lowered his voice to the point she had to strain to hear him and told her. "Eric will be in here soon, and you can't let him see you afraid."

She stared at him a minute, before nodding, letting out a deep breath that she wasn't aware she was holding in. He handed her the knife back keeping his hand on hers, and walked her through each step as he completed them. He pulled her hand back with his, before quickly throwing his arm forward. As he released her hand, she released the knife and she hit the target, though it was far from the bulls-eye. "Good." He told her, nodding his approval. "Just keep doing that, and you'll be fine." He assured her, turning to resume his observation of the rest.

"Thank you." She said quickly to his retreating back, doing her best to ignore that her hand seemed to burn from his touch. He paused in his stride, waving an acknowledgement and taking his spot back behind the initiates.

* * *

The obstacle course was one of Four's favorite parts of initiation. After demonstrating the obstacles and giving them a safety briefing that they were sure to ignore, Four left them with a couple Dauntless members who ran the course for members throughout the year and went to the observation deck overlooking the entire course. The initiates always enjoyed the day, it wasn't scored, and they took the chance to have fun during training. It was probably good that they didn't realize that joining Four on the observation deck were the five Dauntless leaders, most of them getting a good look at the initiates for the first time.

Four took a free spot next to Frank who was leafing through some of the initiate's files. "They look good this year." Trinity told Four with an approving nod, her gaze not leaving the course.

"Yeah, it's a strong group." Four agreed.

"Dominic isn't going to score the initiates this year; he doesn't want anyone to think he skewed the results for his sister." Frank said as he came to her file. "Though it looks like she's doing just fine on her own."

"I'll let the initiates know before rankings." Four said with a nod. He never thought Dom would be biased, but it was good to remove the speculation.

"Eric's told me a lot about her." Max told Dom, who didn't exactly look thrilled about Eric taking an interest in his sister. "Where'd she learn to fight?"

"I'm not really sure, must've learned it after I left." Dom said nonchalantly. He wasn't sure if he liked his sister getting this much attention from Max and Eric even though he knew she was leadership material.

"That's her biggest problem." Eric said, motioning to where Veronica was on the climbing wall, she had paused in her ascent and was yelling at Christina, urging her along and telling her where to place her hands and feet while she climbed. "She would have been over the wall and finished with the course if she didn't feel the need to help everyone else."

Four wasn't surprised she was helping them. On more than one occasion he'd found her in the training room with Jeremy and Al, doing her best to help them. It hadn't helped much, but they weren't the worst anymore, which may be enough to keep them around.

"It's not necessarily a bad thing." Trinity said.

Eric gave her a disbelieving look, but Max looked intrigued. Trinity was the second oldest leader, right behind Frank, and she was Max's mentor when he became a leader in training. He still took Trinity's advice seriously.

"If people think you have their best interests in mind, they will follow you anywhere." Trinity pointed to where Veronica just crossed the last obstacle, followed shortly by Christina, Will, Jeremy and Al. "She still finished before all of them, but now they think they did it together."

Max nodded as he watched the last of the initiates finish the course. "There's something to that." He mused. "It seems to work for you two." He said with a quick smile and wink at Dom and Four. The two exchanged looks, not sure if that was meant to be a compliment or an insult. It was difficult to tell with Max.

* * *

"Get up!" A voice boomed through the initiate dorms over the clanging of something metal hitting a locker. Veronica rolled out of bed, wishing that she was wearing more than a sports bra and shorts, as she tried to figure out what the hell was going on. She rubbed her eyes as the harsh florescent lights came on and saw Eric and Four standing in front of a group of Dauntless members who were stacking guns and other gear on the floor.

"Get dressed and be at the train in 7 minutes." Four said with a slight grin. The grin made Veronica uneasy, Four didn't smile much. Four's eyes scanned the half-awake initiates, pausing at Veronica. Seeing her ruffled from sleep made her look softer somehow, more vulnerable. He didn't expect it to intrigue him as much as it did, but he was finding it difficult to look away. She caught his gaze and covered her scarred stomach with her arm uncomfortably. He'd barely noticed them, but he assumed that when she looked at herself, they were a glaring flaw.

Eric's grin was more expected; he smiled all the time; but usually the things he smiled at most people wouldn't enjoy. "We're going to play a game." He told them excitedly. Some of the initiates shifted uneasily, while the others just stared blankly at him. He watched them for a second before realizing they were still standing in their spots. "Get moving!" He barked before the group left the room to get the Dauntless born initiates.

The initiates dressed quickly, grabbing a gun and vest holding paint balls and a flashlight. As they waited for the Dauntless born initiates and the Dauntless members, Christina and Veronica talked with Will and Al about what they could possibly be doing in the middle of the night. "It's obvious we are going to be shooting each other." Will told them.

"Thank God we have that Erudite mind of yours, or we would never figure anything out." Christina teased.

"V was an Erudite too, you never give her crap about it." Will grumbled.

"That's because Veronica doesn't state the obvious all the time." Al countered.

Veronica shrugged at Will, but couldn't keep the grin off her face.

"You're a great friend." Will told her with an eye roll.

Their conversation was interrupted as the Dauntless born initiates and Dauntless members came onto the platform in a loud, rowdy mob, drowning out any hope of conversation.

The initiates jumped onto the oncoming train, followed by Four and Eric, who quickly hushed the crowd.

"We're playing capture the flag." Eric told them, his boyish grin still plastered on his face. "Four and I will lead each team, and we'll have an equal number of transfers and Dauntless born on each team."

"Plus a few full members to keep things interesting." Four told them, leaning against the wall, his arms folded casually against his chest. His calm demeanor was the polar opposite of Eric's enthusiasm, but he was just as excited about the game. It was a favorite of his. "Eric lost last year, so he can go first." Four added with a small grin, shooting a quick glance at Eric.

"Fine." Eric said, through slightly clenched teeth, before his smile came back. "Transfer's first?" He asked Four who shrugged.

"Fine with me." Four told him.

"Alright." Eric said, looking the transfers over carefully. "Veronica."

Veronica exchanged a quick glance with Christina, before moving to stand by Eric's side. She was fairly certain he wouldn't pick Christina Will or Al unless left with no other options. He preferred strength to cunning. She was also fairly certain he'd picked her mostly to piss Four off. He threw an arm around her shoulder and she smiled at him encouragingly hoping that she was wrong about her assessment of him. She liked Eric; there wasn't much to dislike that she could see. He was strong, he was tough but she liked tough, he wasn't bad to look at, and he liked her. She was just concerned that he wasn't much of strategist, and wouldn't pick teammates that would work well together. Veronica wanted to win.

Four frowned, looking at Veronica who just shrugged. He had a plan that veronica was going to be a key part of, but that was blown to shit now. "Edward." He said quickly, hoping that he had been on Eric's short list.

They continued choosing until Eric had Peter, Molly, Al and Myra, and Four had Will, Christina, Jeremy and Drew. After picking their Dauntless born initiates, Eric rubbed his hands together eagerly. "Alright kids, let's do this."

_**A/N- PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK! PLEASE? :)**_


	4. Capture the Flag

_**A/N: THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO REVIEWED, FAVORITED AND ALERTED THIS TIME AROUND. I REALLY APPRECIATE IT! IF YOU HAVEN'T EVER REVIEWED BEFORE, PLEASE TAKE A SECOND TO LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK OF THE STORY, HAVING FEEDBACK IS REALLY HELPFUL!**_

* * *

Four walked in near silence through the sparsely wooded park, hoping to scope out where Eric had placed his flag, and maybe take out a few of his team in the process. He heard a branch snap to his left and whipped around, his eyes scanning the darkness, waiting for any hint of movement. He took cover behind a tree trunk, peering around slowly, waiting to hear another indication of motion. He heard a rustle of dead leaves beneath feet on the other side of his cover and pulled his back from the trunk as though it had suddenly caught fire, whirling around and bringing his paintball gun up. He barely registered the figure before firing. As he pulled the trigger a stinging sensation spread through his shoulder; a sure sign that he'd taken a hit. "Shit." He muttered, rubbing his gloved hand over the dully throbbing shoulder.

"Damn." His assailant said, almost in awe, and he looked up to see Veronica looking down at her paint splattered chest. "Good shot." She conceded, before sitting on the ground, her back against a tree trunk.

"Who got hit first?" He asked, debating on letting her have a pass and continue the game, as he was almost sure she'd hit him first.

"I don't know." She said with a shrug. "I guess it was too close to tell."

"I guess so." He agreed, he wasn't going to let one of Eric's stronger team members continue the game if she wasn't going to fight for it. He took a seat on the ground, propping his elbows on his knees and watched as Veronica removed her gloves and vest, using the vest as a make shift pillow as she leaned her head back against the bark of the tree. "What are you doing?" He asked her, raising his eyebrows.

"If I'm dead, I'm at least going to be comfortable." She reasoned.

He shrugged. "Fair enough." He conceded, before asking what he really wanted to know. "What are you doing out here anyway? Why didn't Eric have you doing something more important that running around the park?" His tone had more annoyance in it than he'd intended, but he was really pissed an initiate had shot him.

"I volunteered for Four recon." She said nonchalantly. "Eric really doesn't like you, you know? He said if we lose he'll be mad, but if you get the flag we'll see an ugly side of him."

"Hmm." Four said, uninterested in Eric's hatred for him.

"I don't know why he was worried. Al put our flag at the top of the bell tower, and I doubt you'd climb up there."

Four's head shot up and he fixed his gaze on her, his eyes narrowing. "Why do you say that?" He said, trying to keep the accusatory tone from creeping into the question.

Veronica looked at him in confusion. "Because you're afraid of heights." She said matter of factly.

"What makes you say that?" He inquired. "Something Eric told you?" He didn't think Eric knew any of his fears, but he wouldn't put it past him to look into his records.

"No." She told him. "I don't think Eric knows."

Four waited for her to elaborate, but it became clear that she thought their conversation was through. "Then why do you think that?" He asked in frustration. He wasn't sure if she was trying to piss him off or if she was really that close lipped.

"The obstacle course." She said simply, looking at his face for understanding. "You demonstrated every obstacle, except the climbing wall."

"That doesn't prove anything; there are plenty of reasons why I wouldn't demonstrate. Maybe I just thought you were all smart enough to figure out how to climb a wall."

"Maybe." She conceded before failing to suppress a grin. "But you haven't denied it either. Most people would deny it right away if it wasn't true."

Four scowled at her, keeping his lips pressed together, he didn't have anything to say that wasn't an attack, so he was trying to just not say anything at all. "Why'd you volunteer to follow me if you didn't think I'd go after the flag, just so you could bother me?" He finally snapped, unable to hold his tongue.

"Honestly," She began, looking a bit sheepish. "I didn't think our team was going to win, no matter what I did, so I just picked something where I could be by myself."

Four snorted at her admission, amused that she had such little faith in Eric. "Your team has just as good a shot as winning as mine." He chided her

"Eric picked us because we were strong; none of us work well together. This isn't a test of strength." She told him with a shake of her head.

"Fair enough." He told her with a flippant expression, though he was pleased to hear that she had picked up on the point of the exercise, and had realized what was needed to win.

"How bad is it gonna be when we lose?" She asked him, giving him a sideways glance.

"Last year he made them run laps till they threw up." Four said with a smirk. "But I got the flag that year, so maybe it won't be too bad." He added when her eyes widened. "Besides, Eric likes you, so I think you're safe."

"What about you?" She asked him. Her blunt question catching him off guard.

"I like all the initiates equally."

It was Veronica's turn to snort, and Four gave her an annoyed glare. "You don't think I treat you all equally?"

"No, I don't think you like us." She told him.

"I like you guys." He insisted, though his scowl didn't match his admission.

"Yeah, your disapproving stares and the 'you all suck' pep talks should have given me a clue." She teased. Four sighed, ignoring her gaze, choosing to stay silent. "Dom told me you're not really an asshole. He said that when you aren't training, you're kind of a nice guy."

"Dom needs to keep his mouth shut." Four muttered sullenly.

"He also said you're an asshole because you want us to succeed." Veronica added, leaning her head to meet his gaze, she hadn't meant to offend him, and she was fairly certain that she hadn't really done so, but she wanted him to know that she didn't think he did it to be cruel.

"That's true." He admitted, cracking his knuckles self-consciously. He didn't like to talk about himself.

She picked up his discomfort and let the conversation drop, watching the tree line for signs of movement from the other players. She hoped Al did well; she was worried he wasn't going to make it through phase one if he didn't. "I wish none of us had to leave. I wish that if we met the requirements…we could stay." She told him her voice drifting off.

"Me too." Four agreed. He knew he shouldn't disagree with the Dauntless laws in front of an initiate, but he was fairly certain she wouldn't say anything. Her brother had probably been very vocal about his opinion.

The sky lit up as a flare was shot in the air and Four stood, brushing the dirt and grass off himself before offering her his hand. She took it and he pulled her to her feet, waiting for her to put her gear back on before heading towards the meeting point. "Maybe Eric won't be mad at me, because I shot you." She reasoned.

"Yeah but I shot you too." He said with a chuckle.

Her face wrinkled in displeasure. "Oh yeah."

* * *

The next morning, Four worked with Edward, Christina, Will, Jeremy and Drew on their techniques to prepare them as best he could for their finals fights. Tomorrow the ring would be open to the Dauntless members as the initiates fought in front of the leaders for their final scores of Phase One. All of their other fights would be taken into consideration in their scoring, but the scores of the leaders would weigh heavily on their rankings. The transfers would fight first, followed by the Dauntless born. By the next morning, they would have five less initiates, no matter how well all of them did.

All of the initiates would have loved the opportunity to work on their fighting, however for the last hour Eric had Veronica, Peter, Al, Molly and Myra running through every exercise he could think of as punishment for their poor performance the previous night. Eric sat on stack of mats, his eyes on his tablet as he reviewed the leadership business he would be dealing with that day. He would glance up to verify the initiates were still working, and to yell a new exercise to them. "Sit ups." He said in a bored tone, his eyes flicking up to make sure they all got on the floor and began. Veronica began her sit-ups, trying her best to not scream in frustration.

She had rationalized that they deserved a punishment, they did lose after all, but she was having trouble remembering that as every muscle seemed to scream in protest. She was thankful she'd worn a tank top and shorts that day, not envying Molly's tight pants and long sleeve spandex shirt. Sweat seemed to cover every inch of her and she was fairly certain that the only way she could feel more disgusting would be if Eric told them to go roll around in the dirt outside.

"Laps." Eric called out after a couple minutes had passed, a small smile playing on his lips. Veronica took a deep breath, struggling to her feet and slowly jogging to the outer perimeter of the room to begin laps. Al fell in beside her and they kept a pace slow enough to keep them from muscle failure, but quick enough to avoid Eric's gaze. Peter had begun simply going through the motions 10 minutes prior, barely shuffling as he moved, his eyes fixed on Eric, prepared to pick up his pace if he was spotted. Myra tripped over her feet in front of Peter falling painfully to her hands and knees. Peter stepped around her, giving her a disgusted sneer as he moved past.

"Asshole." Veronica muttered more to herself than to Al. Al met her eyes and she nodded. As they passed Myra, who was now struggling back to her feet, Al and Veronica grabbed her under either arm and pulled her to her feet before continuing past her. They wanted to help, but they weren't going to risk Eric's wrath by stopping. She would have to make it on her own after they pulled her up.

"Squat thrusts." Eric called. The five initiates made their way back to their spot in front of him and began their exercise, hoping he would get bored soon and let them stop. Eric barely glanced up, but noticed Peter's half attempt at the exercise and shot up from his seat. "Are you special, initiate?" He demanded as he stalked towards Peter. The other four began exchanging glances and slowly got to their feet. As long as Eric was distracted, they were going to take their chance at a break. Eric got inches from Peter, narrowing his eyes. "Answer me." He hissed.

Peter took a breath, steeling himself, refusing to show any fear. "I just think some of us deserve this more than others." He told him, keeping his tone neutral. He shot a look at Veronica before adding, "some of us didn't get shot."

Veronica opened her mouth to defend herself, but closed it quickly when Al pinched the back of her arm, shaking his head at her.

Eric snorted, following Peter's gaze to Veronica. "Her job was to take down Four, and she did that. Your job was to get the flag, and you didn't. Maybe I should just let the rest of them go and you and I can spend all day together. What do you think?" Veronica took the chance to shoot Peter a smug smile barely restraining herself from sticking her tongue out. She knew it was childish, but sometimes you just had to do what felt good.

"If everyone else hadn't gotten taken out of the game, I would have had backup." Peter began protesting. He was not used to taking orders yet, and his Candor upbringing had taught him that everything was up for debate.

He stopped as he realized who he was arguing with but Eric shook his head. "No, keep going. I want to know what you really think." Eric's tone was dangerous, but Peter didn't seem to pick up on it, and he continued his prattle.

"Honestly? I think Al should have found a better place to put the flag. Myra should have done something besides standing around and looking pathetic. The Dauntless born should have been better defenders; we would have been better off just leaving the flag undefended than leaving them with it. I think if Veronica was as great as she thinks she is she should have proved it. I think…"

"Oh for God's sake, shut up!" Veronica finally snapped, rolling her eyes. "If you spent half as much time coming up with a plan last night as you have bitching and moaning today, we might have won."

Al's eyes widened as he stared at her, and he began edging away as if by standing too closely he could catch shrapnel from whatever attack Eric may launch. Veronica became acutely aware that every eye was on her, Four's team included, and that she couldn't back down now. "We lost." She continued with her voice much quieter. "Suck it up and deal with it."

Eric stared at Veronica impassively before turning to see Peter's infuriated face, his face flushed red as if he'd contracted a sudden fever. Eric watched his reaction a moment longer before bursting into laughter. Peter stared at him in confusion, backing away a few steps in case Eric had lost his mind. Eric shook his head before asking Peter between chuckles, "she just keeps kicking your ass doesn't she?"

Peter scowled at Veronica, who couldn't keep control of the smile playing on her lips. Eric clapped her shoulder as his laughter subsided, pointing at her. "Keep it up." He told her, squeezing her shoulder. Veronica was pretty sure that was Eric's version of a compliment and her stomach fluttered in excitement.

"I guess I should go let the other initiates take their licks." Eric mused, walking towards the doors. He stopped and turned back to the stunned initiates, pointing at Peter. "You can come with me." He told him with a vicious grin before exiting.

Peter stalked across the room, shooting daggers at Veronica as he went. He attempted to knock shoulders with her, but she took a step to her right at the last moment, avoiding him. He blew a puff of air through his nostrils in frustration and stormed off, throwing the door closed behind him.

Al stared at Veronica in bewilderment. "Are you crazy?" He asked her in hushed tones.

Veronica felt shell shocked, not sure if what she had done was the safest decision, but it seemed to work out well for her. "Maybe." She answered.

Four called the initiates over and addressed them in a neutral tone, not giving any indication of his thoughts of the altercation. "Take the morning off, come back after lunch." He told them. He looked them over and his lips quirked before adding, "and take a shower. You stink."

Myra, Molly, and Al headed to the door before he could change his mind, but Veronica lingered for a moment, watching his eyes for a sign of either approval or disapproval of how she handled herself. She wasn't sure why she wanted his acceptance so badly, she shouldn't care. She told herself that it was because he was her trainer, and she wanted to please him, but part of her knew it was more than that. She just wasn't sure what.

She realized he wasn't going to give her anything, and she gave him a quick smile. "Thanks." She told him, backing away to catch up with Al.

"V." Four called to her as she turned. She turned back around and he walked towards her, out of earshot of the other initiates. His eyes studied her, and she had to force herself to keep her eyes on his, though she was uncomfortable.

Four looked as though he was going to say something, but changed his mind at the last moment. Finally he cleared his throat and told her. "Be careful, Veronica."

She furrowed her brow, not sure at his meaning. Peter was a jerk, but he wasn't dangerous. Did he mean Eric? "I will." She told him, her eyes searching his for some sort of explanation to his cryptic message. He nodded and went back to his team, leaving Veronica to stand on her own, staring at his back.

* * *

A/N: PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK! ALSO, WOULD ANYONE LIKE TO SEE PICTURES OF MY INSPIRATION FOR VERONICA AND DOMINIC? IF SO I WILL POST A COUPLE PICTURES IN MY PROFILE... PLEASE REVIEW! :)


	5. Final Test- Phase One

**_A/N: Thank you so much for the alerts and reviews as always! :) If anyone is curious, I have placed links to the inspirations for Veronica, Dominic and Jeremy on my profile. Let me know what you think!_**

* * *

Christina, Al Will, Veronica and Jeremy sat together in the dining hall the morning of their final fights with nearly untouched breakfasts in front of them. They picked at their food nervously as they made idle chit chat, watching the minutes tick by on the large clock on the wall.

Veronica had just finished turning her biscuit into a pile of indistinguishable mush, when a pair of heavy hands grabbed her ponytail, tugging the holder halfway out. She scowled swiping blindly behind her, not needing to turn around to know who it was. "Nikki, stop it." She whined, turning in her seat to face him. Dominic gave her a cocky grin, as she fixed her hair.

"Don't call me that." He told her, attempting a serious face as he spoke.

"Don't bother me then." She countered, wrinkling her nose at him.

"Hey I just came to say good luck; I know you'll do great. But never mind, I hope you suck today." Dom grumbled.

Veronica smiled at her brother. "Thanks… I'm nervous." She admitted.

"I think we're all nervous." Christina added.

"Nothing to be nervous about." Dominic told them. "You'll all do fine.' His eyes swept the group before narrowing. "Don't embarrass me." He growled.

"Okay, Four." Veronica said with an eye roll.

Dominic's face fell. "Man, he uses all the good lines." He bemoaned. 'Seriously though, you guys have a lot to prove today. You're transfers, no one here expects you to be impressive." He leaned closer to them, lowering his voice. "But, some of the best Dauntless members are transfers. Eric, Frank, Four, Me…"

"Four's a transfer?" Christina asked, her jaw dropping noticeably.

"Yeah, he didn't tell you?" Dom asked them curiously. The initiates shook their heads, their faces showing the shock of the new knowledge. "Whoops." He said before ruffling Veronica's ponytail. "Good luck, Ronnie. Gotta go."

Dominic was gone before the others could pepper him with questions, and they looked at Veronica for answers instead. "What? I didn't know either." She told them.

"I wonder what faction Four was in." Al mused.

"What about Eric? I couldn't see him anywhere but Dauntless." Jeremy said as he buttered a piece of toast.

"Erudite." Al and Veronica both answered, earning them bewildered looks from the others.

"He told us during capture the flag." Veronica explained, trailing off as Peter sat down across from her, examining her carefully. "What?" She snapped.

"How is this going to work today?" He asked her curiously. "Are we going to just fight once? Are we fighting each other? How does the scoring work?" He peppered her with questions, leaving no time for her to answer.

"I don't know." She finally told him, cutting off his line of questioning.

"Your brother didn't tell you?" He said, sounding astonished.

"No." She told him, her annoyance apparent.

"Huh, I just figured…" He said. "Well never mind then, I guess. I should have known you wouldn't tell me, even if you did know. It's not like we're friends." He gave her a sneaky grin before getting up and heading back to his own table. Veronica shook her head at his retreating back, before looking at her friends, who were staring at her.

"You would tell us if Dom told you anything, right?" Christina asked her unsurely.

"Yes, of course I would." Veronica told her. She could see the uncertainty in the eyes watching her, and swore under her breath as she realized why Peter paid her a visit. "I've barely seen Dom. When would he have given me this secret information?" She asked, more hostility in her tone than she intended.

"We know he didn't give you anything, V. Dom isn't that kind of guy and you aren't the type of girl to hide it if he did." Jeremy said diplomatically.

Veronica gave him a warm smile, appreciating his Amity way of seeing the best in everyone. "Thanks, Jeremy." She told him, glaring at the others. "At least someone trusts me over Peter."

Christina grinned sheepishly at her. "I can't help it; sometimes the Candor just pops out."

"Let's go, we need to warm up." Will interrupted, saving Christina from having to explain herself further.

* * *

Veronica and Christina stood together at the edge of the ring, their minor spat forgotten as they watched Jeremy and Drew fight. The crowd of Dauntless attending the fights yelled, clapped, whistled and stomped. The atmosphere of the room was completely different than the initiates were used to, and they were all worried about their performance. "He's lucky he got Drew, he could win this one." Veronica told Christina as they focused on the fight, their gazes occasionally flicking to the table set up ringside where the Dauntless leaders were observing the fights with an almost clinical curiosity, occasionally taking notes or murmuring to one another.

"Yeah, he might make it through this phase if he wins." Christina agreed. Drew was slow and predicable whereas Jeremy was quick on his feet and more difficult to read. As Jeremy landed a solid blow to Drew's cheek, both girls began fidgeting nervously, knowing the fight was close to a finish, and either of them could be fighting soon. The leaders didn't post a fight schedule, and were instead just giving the initiates one fight to prepare. Peter and Myra fought next, and everyone knew how that was going to turn out. Veronica almost felt bad for Myra.

Max nodded to Four as Drew hit the mat, not making any attempt to get back up. Four pulled Drew to his feet, holding onto his shoulders until the initiate steadied on his feet and began a slow limp to the sidelines, ignoring Jeremy's attempts to help him. "Peter, Myra." Four barked. "Molly and V, you're on deck."

Veronica blew out a puff of air and began bouncing on the balls of her feet, giving Christina an encouraging look. "I'm glad it's not someone I like." She admitted as she began massaging the knuckles on her hands nervously.

"You can beat Molly, no problem." Christina assured her.

Veronica snorted. "I know that." She said, unable to sound humble. It was a simple fact, she was better than Molly.

"I hope I don't fight Will." Christina said, chewing her bottom lip nervously.

"I'd be more worried about fighting Edward." Veronica told her, unaware that it was probably not the best thing for Christina to hear. Veronica looked at Christina's worried face and frowned. "Sorry." She said quickly.

"It's true." Christina conceded. "He would kill me."

"He could probably kill all of us."

"Not you." Christina told her. "You could beat him."

"I think you're giving me too much credit." Veronica said with a small smile. "He taught me everything I know. I don't have any tricks to use against him."

Christina shrugged, clearly not believing it, but Veronica knew it was true. She was just grateful she didn't have to face him.

Peter finished his fight with Myra in record time, and smiled smugly at her, practically preening himself he was so pleased.

"He beat Myra. It's like beating a puppy, nothing to be proud of." Veronica muttered to Christina.

Christina snorted before smothering her laugh with her hand, not wanting to draw attention to herself.

"V. Molly." Four called the two girls to the mat, both wearing determined expressions. "Al and Christina, you're next."

Veronica and Molly circled each other, both watching the other carefully. While Molly was only an inch taller than Veronica, she seemed to be built like a tank compared to Veronica's lanky frame.

Veronica forced herself to shut out the noises of the crowd, urging the two initiates along, and did not allow her gaze to wander to her brother or any of the other leaders, even though she thought she could feel the focused stares burning her skin. She began racking her brain trying to remember everything she'd observed from Molly's fights the past two weeks.

_She likes to hit first, as hard as she can. _Veronica recalled, and immediately rushed towards Molly, ducking her head from a wild punch Molly threw in surprise and landing a solid hit to Molly's middle, knocking the breath from her.

Molly stumbled back, but kept her footing giving Veronica a look of pure hatred. Molly threw herself at Veronica, knocking her to the mat. The two grappled with each other, both struggling to get on top. Molly finally got enough of an opening to hit Veronica squarely in the jaw. Veronica felt the coppery taste of blood fill her mouth, just barely managing to move her head out of the way to avoid another assault.

Veronica got her knee between the two of them and was able to use the extra space to punch Molly back and scramble out from underneath her, kicking her in the chest as she began standing. Veronica debating allowing Molly to get to her feet before attacking her again, she hated the idea of kicking someone when they were down, but she knew that she did not have the luxury of doing only what made her comfortable and she reared back, kicking Molly in the ribs. She couldn't bring herself to aim at Molly's temple.

After a few solid kicks, where the sound of Molly's ribs cracking seemed to reverberate in Veronica's head, she stepped back, waiting to see if Molly would be able to continue. To her credit, Molly did attempt to get back up, but immediately fell back to the mat, crying out in pain. Thankfully, Max called the fight, clearly bored by the initiate's wails of pain. Veronica put a hand out to Molly, who sneered back at her, but quickly realized that she would not be getting up on her own and begrudgingly accepted Veronica's outstretched hand. She placed a hand to her right side and both girls made their way to the nurse's station for a quick exam and treatment for any serious injuries.

Veronica was sent away almost immediately, and after rinsing the blood from her mouth, she rejoined the group of initiates to observe Christina and Al's fight. She glanced at Dominic, who nodded at her and gave her a quick smile, and she smiled back, grateful for his encouragement. Turning her attention to her two friends that were fighting Veronica watched for a minute before frowning. "What is she doing?" She muttered under her breath, crossing her arms. Christina was not fighting at the level Veronica knew she should be. She was leaving huge openings, moving sluggishly, and not taking the opportunities that were presented.

Veronica shook her head as Christina took a harsh hit to her face and stumbled back to the mat. Veronica liked Al, but she knew he didn't have a chance in hell to win, if Christina wasn't apparently trying to throw the fight. Veronica glanced at Four, who was watching the fight with equal confusion, and was glad she wasn't the only one who saw what was happening.

When Al finally won the fight, Christina limped off the mat, though she didn't appear too worse for wear. Veronica kept her eyes focused on Edward and Will, the last fight of the transfer initiates, until Christina finally joined her.

"What the hell was that?" Veronica asked quietly, trying to keep her eyes focused on the fight in front of her, but finally turning to face Christina when she didn't receive an answer.

"What was what?" Christina asked innocently, though she averted her gaze past Veronica.

"You know what." Veronica said with a raise of her eyebrows. "And don't try to lie, you're terrible at it."

Christina sighed. She swept her eyes around the area to be sure no one was listening and stepped closer, lowering her voice. "If Al didn't win his fight today, he'd be on the bottom of the pack. Lower than Jeremy, maybe even lower than Myra or Drew."

Veronica's face couldn't mask the surprise she felt. "But what about you?"

Christina shrugged. "I should be fine, I know I'm not in the running for number one, as long as I make it through… as long as all of us make it through, that's all I care about."

Veronica couldn't help but smile, though she still thought that Christina was being foolish. "You should have been in Amity." She told her, laughing when Christina scowled, pushing Veronica's shoulder. The two of them turned their attention back to Will and Edward, and ran to the edge of the mat when they saw how drastic the fight had become.

Will swayed on his feet, his face covered in blood as he scrambled to avoid another of Edward's attacks. Will had always been one of the fastest fighters in the group, and from Edward's expression, Veronica was pretty sure Edward was angry and frustrated that he hadn't finished the fight yet.

Edward's temper was short, and Veronica had watched him explode in fits of uncontrollable rage in the past. Though it was frightening, she never felt like she had been in danger, but she'd also never been the one to provoke him to that point. As she watched him attempt to attack Will, only for Will to slip away before getting a major blow, she became increasingly worried,

Finally, Will tripped over his own feet, and fell to his hands and knees. He attempted to scramble up but Edward's foot caught him in the stomach and he fell to the mat. Edward began aiming his frantic kicks towards Will's chest, moving up to his head, and hadn't made any effort to stop, though Will had long since stilled.

"He's going to kill him." Christina said frantically, her eyes wide.

"Edward!" Veronica struggled to be heard over the crowd, looking to the table where the leaders sat. Dom fidgeted uncomfortably, clearly ready to jump up and stop the fight, but he kept glancing at Max, who was watching with an amused expression and hesitated.

"Edward, STOP!" Veronica screamed. Finally realizing that no one was going to stop him, Veronica ran onto the mat, pushing Edward backwards and putting herself between Will and Edward. Edward began moving forward and Veronica grabbed his upper arms. He knocked her away, but instead of starting towards Will again, he turned his attention to Veronica.

"Damnit." She muttered, ducking before Edward's fist made contact with her face. He grabbed a handful of her hair, yanking her upright. An illegal move, but Edward was far past caring about such nonsense. Veronica brought her elbow up, breaking Edward's nose with a sickening crack as Four began making his way to the mat, clearly ready to stop the fight before it turned into nothing more than a street brawl.

Edward looked stunned as a gusher of blood came from his nose, but the rage quickly glazed his gaze over again and he began pummeling Veronica's face with his free fist, as she struggled to get away from the firm grasp holding her hair.

_Finally._ She thought to herself as Four began grabbing Edward's arms, grateful for the impromptu fight to be over. But, before Four could grab Edward he brought his knee up as Veronica began stumbling forward and as it made contact, a bright burst of light seemed to fill her vision, before a darkness began replacing it. She was vaguely aware of hitting the mat, and tried to will herself to stay conscious, but before she could even form a coherent thought, the darkness enveloped her completely.

* * *

**_A/N Again, please please please let me know what you think and leave a review! Also, if you are looking for a GREAT Eric story, check out A Place for My Head by Kristinmw. She's a great writer, and it's going to be a fantastic story! Please review! :)_**


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